MARTIN Keown reckons Villa have got a chance of FA Cup glory with Alex McLeish at the helm as he prepares to watch two of his former clubs lock horns at the Emirates on Sunday.

MARTIN Keown reckons Villa have got a chance of FA Cup glory with Alex McLeish at the helm as he prepares to watch two of his former clubs lock horns at the Emirates on Sunday.

The ex-Holte End hero rates the current Villa boss highly and feels he is still hungry to add to his impressive trophy haul.

McLeish admitted that winning the Carling Cup with Villa’s bitter rivals Blues last year was one of the proudest moments of his career but winning the FA Cup with Villa would top that, according to Keown.

The 45-year-old, who spent three seasons at Villa Park between 1986-1989, also believes the visitors will fancy their chances against a stuttering Arsenal side who have lost three of their last four games.

“Alex McLeish is a very proud man,” said Keown, speaking ahead of ESPN’s live coverage of the FA Cup clash in north London.

“I think it was seven honours he won while he was at Rangers and suddenly he now finds himself at Aston Villa after taking Birmingham to the Carling Cup Final and beating Arsenal, of course.

“It was an outstanding achievement what he did at Birmingham last year.

“It’s ironic he’s back playing against Arsenal again because he will want to win the FA Cup and add it to what he’s already won.

“Villa have not won the FA Cup in my lifetime – they’ve got to the final and they’ve won the League Cup but never the FA Cup.

“All I can talk from is personal experience and the FA Cup is a fantastic competition to be in and to win it is a dream come true.

“It was definitely very high on my priorities to win as a player and I don’t think it’s any different now for the guys that play the game.

“Arsene Wenger won’t want Alex McLeish to go away with a big grin on his face once more, though.

“There’s a lot on this game and Villa’s tails will be up after winning at Molineux in the local derby where they showed lots of character, whereas Arsenal will be licking their wounds because of their recent form.”

Last year, Villa supporters were left bitterly disappointed when former manager Gerard Houllier fielded a weakened team in their FA Cup clash with Manchester City but Keown knows there will be nothing like that this year.

“There’s absolutely no way he will do what Houllier did,” he added.

“If you are going to put a full team out against Bristol Rovers then you are going to put it out against Arsenal.

“I’m sure they will be looking at it and thinking Arsenal are vulnerable. Wenger will put out a strong team and the players will want to rescue something from their season.”

? Keown is a football analyst for ESPN, which has live and exclusive coverage of three FA Cup fourth-round games this weekend, including Arsenal v Villa at 3.30pm on Sunday.